Michigan
8-3,1-1Big Ten
Michigan State
7-4,0-2Big Ten
Wolverines Take Down Rival Spartans in Four Sets at Crisler Center
9/26/2021 5:01:00 PM | Volleyball
» Jess Mruzik and Paige Jones each finished with 16 kills.
» Michigan out-blocked Michigan State 10-7.
» May Pertofsky had eight kills, four total blocks and three aces.
» 3,808 fans packed Crisler Sunday afternoon.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Michigan 3, Michigan State 1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 28-26
Records: U-M (8-3, 1-1 B1G), MSU (7-5, 0-2 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 1 -- at Nebraska (Lincoln, Neb.), 6 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball team won an exciting four-set match (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 28-26) against in-state rival Michigan State in front of 3,808 fans Sunday (Sept. 26) inside Crisler Center.
The win evens the Wolverines' Big Ten record at 1-1, while the Spartans fall to 0-2.
For the second consecutive match, senior Paige Jones and sophomore Jess Mruzik led the way for Michigan (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten), each finishing with 16 kills. Junior May Pertofsky had another well-rounded match, finishing with eight kills, four total blocks (2 BS, 2 BA) and three service aces. Freshman Jacque Boney came up big on the block, finishing with eight (two solo blocks, six block assists) in addition to four kills.
Set one began with the type of back-and-forth battle one would expect in a rivalry match, trading blows the entire way. Michigan found itself trailing by three late at 20-17 and stormed back with sophomore Scottee Johnson at the service line. The Dayton, Ohio, native took over with the Maize and Blue trailing by one point and finished out with the Wolverines ahead by two. Pertofsky picked up one of two solo blocks to end the match at 25-22.
The second set saw Michigan State control action from the start and jump ahead to a large lead. Michigan trailed by 11 points before mounting a late comeback, outscoring the Spartans 13-4 to close out the set before running out of time. MSU came away with the 25-23 victory.
Michigan needed another comeback effort in the third set, as Michigan State took a 19-17 lead. The Wolverines rallied back to tie the score at 19 and again at 22. U-M turned to its scorers in the clutch as a Jones kill got possession back and Mruzik put U-M at set point. Pertofsky came through at the service line with one of her three aces to end the set 25-22.
Set four followed a similar script to the third, as Michigan State held a late lead. The Spartans had multiple chances to force a fifth set at 24-23 and again at 25-24, but the Wolverines fought off each opportunity. Boney's block was never bigger than in the final few points of the match, putting Michigan ahead 26-25 with her second solo block of the afternoon, and then doing it again with a block assist to put the Maize and Blue ahead 27-26. An MSU attack error ended the match at 28-26.
Johnson had 42 assists and a registered another double-double thanks to 14 digs. Redshirt sophomore libero Hannah Grant led the Wolverines with 15 digs.
Michigan finished with more blocks (10-7) than Michigan State and held the advantage in attack percentage (.255 to 176). The Spartans finished the match with more assists (55 to 46) and aces (13 to 6).
Michigan kicks off its first true conference road weekend Friday (Oct. 1) against No. 12 Nebraska in Lincoln at 6 p.m. CDT. The Wolverines then travel to Iowa City to take on Iowa on Saturday (Oct. 2) at 7 p.m.
